Coffee with a Canine

There is a wonderful blog entitled Coffee with a Canine on which I was a guest blogger. Please click on the link below to read about my Misty.

http://coffeecanine.blogspot.com/2010/10/joani-ascher-misty.html

Wilda

At long last, after some worrying months for we who lack confidence in our puppies, Wilda has been placed with a graduate. It’s not that Wilda was a bad puppy, but she did have at least one unusual habit that made me wonder if she was really a candidate for guide dog work.

Wilda talks. She doesn’t talk to everyone, but she talked to me, and I learned that she did talk to her trainer. Initially I thought it was kind of funny that when I was on the phone, Wilda would try to make words. But it progressed to me being unable to tell her anything, since she was so busy talking back and it was hard talking over her when I was having a conversation. The movements she made with her mouth were funny and exaggerated, and I wondered if I somehow looked like that to her when I was speaking.

She never made the noises when anyone else was in the room, but her voice sure carried. My husband could hear it upstairs, but if he tried to catch her doing it, to see what it looked like (as opposed to my imitation of what it looked like) she always clammed right up. Mum was the word, and she never admitted to him that she could talk.

Now that she is with her graduate, her person who will rely on her to guide her safely, I don’t know if she will talk. As far as I know she only talks to women, which makes it possible that she might have a few things to say. I’ll never know. But Wilda is a working girl, and of that I can be extremely proud.

Wilda Walks with Wisdom

It’s amazing. The trainers at the Seeing Eye have turned another bouncy, flouncy puppy, one which we spent months working to civilize and socialize, into a model dog guide. Wilda is now prepared to steer visually impaired people around life’s obstacles.

We were so excited to see her walk with her trainer around the streets of Morristown, NJ, on a frigid, sunny day in early January. Walking quickly so we wouldn’t fall behind her and her trainer, we kept the obligatory following distance and watched every move they made. Wilda confidently navigated around trees and signs in the sidewalk and negotiated her way past a construction site. She even thwarted her trainer’s attempt to walk into the path of a moving car.

Her trainer thinks she’s great and is hopeful that she will be matched with someone in the next few months. We are so proud that she learned her lessons well.

Off to Puppy School

Wilda, our 16-month-old black Labrador retriever Seeing Eye® puppy, returned to The Seeing Eye Tuesday. Sending a puppy back is a strange feeling and differs with each of them. Some departures bring tears and some bring smiles, as the pups climb into the back of the Seeing Eye van. Our last one, Audrey, was hard to let go, but I was, if not happy, relieved when Wilda left. She is a wonderful puppy, came house-trained at seven weeks (!), and followed commands. And she is full of personality.

Here are some of her traits.

Wilda is smart. To show me she wanted to go for a walk, she pulled a leash off the hook, put it in the middle of the kitchen floor, then pulled out a plastic bag and put it next to the leash.

Wilda is sneaky. She is a pickpocket, both from jackets hanging on the hook near the door, as well as from briefcases or purses left unzipped. Any paper and pen I am using is instantly on the floor if I leave the room, and that includes, unfortunately, twenty dollar bills.

Wilda is a pack animal. Whenever it is time to go out, she rounds up the other dogs and pushes them to the door. She also appointed herself the pee police and took over Misty’s job of alerting us to canine potty needs.

Wilda is a cat lover, at least if the cat is Smudge. She likes to remove his collar as often as she gets a chance. Then she carries it back to her lair, which, conveniently, is the middle of the kitchen floor.

Wilda is possessive. If I stand still for even a second next to one of the counters in the kitchen, she will lay down across my feet. It makes cooking difficult. Luckily, I have long arms. She also sometimes drapes an arm over the other dogs.

Wilda is talkative. This is her worst trait, but she only does it to me. She seems to be mimicking my mouth movements and talks to me, sometimes also barks at me, while I am trying to work. For everyone else, mum is the word.

It has been quiet since she left. Very quiet.

Our K-9 Canine

Yesterday I got the most unexpected news. Our eighth Seeing Eye® puppy, Jamie, is now an officer of the law. She is a bomb sniffing dog for one of the agencies that protect our country. We learned this yesterday at the annual Seeing Eye Family Day gathering. Upon our arrival we were told to go into the building for a surprise. They handed us a certificate with Jamie’s name and on the bottom it said she was now a K9 Explosives Detection Officer.

When last we heard about Jamie, who is a thoroughly sweet yellow Labrador retriever, she had been rejected by The Seeing Eye for being too distractible. My description of her was that she would stand outside and just watch the wind. But maybe she wasn’t watching the wind, maybe she was sniffing, practicing, using her nose for a good purpose. Who knows? We couldn’t be more proud.

The Ultimate Challah

People ask me lots of questions about my writing and my books. One of the common ones is “Wally is often cooking for her family and friends. Why don’t you include some of her favorite recipes?”

Good question.

I guess the reason I don’t is that there is enough going on in my books without adding pages of recipes. There is a word limit count that corresponds to a page limit, and while my books are allowed to be longer now, they are still restricted. So I can’t afford to use any pages that don’t keep the story moving forward.

Yet I am not without sense, and if people want to know how Wally Morris, my amateur detective, would make some of the food in her books, I am willing to tell them. Luckily Wally is a much better cook than I am, so if I write about a recipe that people believe Wally can make but I can’t, then they can just assume my husband or daughter really made it.

I thought I’d start with a recipe that I am good at, and a bit vain about. Serve it with a nice Shabbat dinner. Afterwards, it’s good toasted, with cream cheese. Or turn it into French toast. Yum.

Best Challah

1 package dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-120 degrees)
4 ½ Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. pareve margarine
4 eggs room temperature
3 cups bread flour
2-3 cups all purpose flour

Spray oil to coat bowl

Less than 1 tsp. cold water

In a large bowl dissolved the yeast in the warm water. Add the sugar, then a few minutes later the salt and margarine and mix with a spoon. Add 3 eggs and one egg white. RESERVE THE YOLK FOR LATER USE-COVER AND REFRIGERATE IT. Add the bread flour and stir vigorously until smooth.

If you have a bread hook, use it now. Add the regular flour until you have a smooth soft dough. Put on floured board and knead until elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic, until doubled in bulk. (It will double in one to two hours in a warm place, or overnight in a cool place)

Punch down dough and let it rest for a few minutes. Divide into two sections (for large loaf) two-thirds and one third. Divide larger section into three and roll each piece into a long rope. Braid the three ropes together and place on oiled bread (cookie) sheet. Divide smaller section and repeat, making a somewhat smaller braid which should be placed on top of the larger one. During the High Holidays, take the whole dough, roll into a coil and make a round challah.

Cover with a dish towel and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add cold water to reserved egg yolk and stir. Paint mixture onto dough carefully with pastry brush.

Bake the challah in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, (less for smaller loaves), or until done. Place on rack to cool.

Vengeance Runs Cold--Published

Today is the official publication date of Vengeance Runs Cold, the fifth book in my Wally Morris mystery series from Avalon Books. Join Wally as she treks north to Lake Champlain to track a killer after a mummified body is found in the wall of her friend's house.

Viva Wally Morris!